ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan: Saudi Arabia, Iran and Qatar have increased their capital shares in the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank, IDB President Ahmed Mohammed Ali announced yesterday.
“Other member countries are also welcome to increase their capital shares,” the IDB president said. However, he said the bank would set out a system to organize such increases by member states.
Speaking to reporters at the conclusion of the 34th annual conference of IDB board of governors at the capital of Turkmenistan, Ali said the bank would finance a major railway project linking Turkmenistan, Iran and Kazakhstan.
The bank’s board of executive directors had earlier agreed to finance projects worth $575 million, including a $91 million dam in Iran, and a $137 million hydroelectric station in Pakistan.
Turkey will get $220 million to purchase electric locomotives, Turkmenistan $31 million to buy oil tankers, Lebanon $52.7 million to establish a water project and Suriname $5.5 million to modernize its sea port, an official statement said.
The IDB chief said the Islamic dinar, which the bank uses as a currency unit for its calculations, is equivalent to one US dollar. However, he said the currency is not used for the bank’s lending operations.
Ali said the IDB would give priority to combating poverty. “The bank will set out a variety of programs for this purpose,” he added.
The IDB governor from Kazakhstan said his country would host the next annual meeting of the IDB governors in 2010.
The conference saw the signing of a number of agreements between the IDB and member states in order to finance various development projects.
The Islamic Corporation for Insurance of Investments and Export Credits (ICIEC), a subsidiary of the bank, signed a memorandum of understanding with Noor Islamic Bank in Kazakhstan.
Abdul Rahman Al-Tayeb, director general of ICIEC, said Noor would promote the corporation’s products under the agreement. It will help member countries to increase their exports to Kazakhstan and open new markets for their products.